The Trainers of Mount Silver
by Zero Rewind
Summary: Homage to my two most favorite trainers; written in the first person, since Critics United are a bunch of bullying jerks when it comes to 2nd person, which is a COMPLETELY VALID METHOD OF WRITING.


Hope you enjoy this one. It's an homage to my two most favorite trainers. I wrote this in the 2nd person but had to rewrite in the 1st person because screw Critics United and their threats.

Don't forget to R&R! Check out my other fanfictions, as well as my original book, **"The Dreg of Bellmead"!** Out on Amazon ;)

**oooo  
The Trainers of Mount Silver  
oooo**

The moment I crushed my rival and he admitted his defeat to me… When I and my trusty team were recorded in the Hall of Fame… It wasn't enough for me.

The tug of glory led me to another region, where I faced gym leaders more powerful than that joke of a team the Elite Four was supposed to be.

"Elite indeed." I spit in disgust as I stare up at the foreboding mountain ahead of me. Even the Kanto gym leaders had fallen to me easily, with the exception of one exceptional trainer: Blue, a former Champion. He gave me a run for my money; a merciless fighter with a solid team.

Still, I won and earned my way to the famed Mount Silver.

The Pokémon here were stronger than any wild-grown ones had the right to be. The conditions were so harsh that any normal trainer would perish here quickly. I steal a glance at the Pokémon Center behind me. It's seen better days, but I'm glad it's there.

The battles are tough and grueling. I find myself often needing to return.

"Only the most powerful are allowed to enter here." I smile as I quote one of the Rangers. "He was right."

The mouth of Mount Silver yawns open, jagged stalactites for teeth threatening to snap closed on the unworthy. I enter without fear. I am worthy; no one has yet bested me. It is my destiny to be here.

It is dark here. I stare out into the darkness, realizing eyes are staring back at me. Powerful Weavile, Tyrannitar and Ursarings engage me in battle, but I know their weaknesses. They fall quickly to my powerful team who have seen a thousand battles. Unreasonably strong they might be, but I'm getting used to their limited tactics. They are wild, after all.

As the ground got more treacherous, the less Pokémon I encountered. Fearful, they were; but of what? I had only been here for less than an hour. No, there must be something else here.

I smile; perhaps a legendary beast.

What few wild Pokémon remain do not even attempt to fight me. They simply stare out with beady red eyes, white eyes, and green eyes.

Strange behavior, I think.

Their gazes almost look pitying.

I hesitate, but only for a moment. I am the Champion of both regions. I grit my teeth and plow my way through the cave. The ambient noises fall away as the hollow cry of the wind whipping at the peak threatens to blow me off the mountain.

The wind rips at my entire body as I progress through the mountain, entering a cave for a few seconds of reprieve. I stand there, shivering and rubbing my hands together as I begin to recognize the signs of battle in this cave.

Immediately, I tense and await confrontation. None come, and yet I stare at the walls in confusion. Scorch marks all around, bones burnt so badly it was hard to tell if they were simply unlucky Pokémon or any unfortunate trainers who happened to be powerful enough to brave these mountains. Rare, they were, but they existed all the same.

Nothing attacks me, so I recall my Pokémon and continue my path through the caves and the mountain. Eventually, I reach a small, crude set of stairs etched in the stone. I immediately realize these were made by a human.

The stairs look worn.

Someone lived up here, once? Who would be so crazy? Perhaps it was the one burnt to a crisp in the other cave. I shrug and slowly walk up the stairs; three small platforms, but they were the longest stairs I'd ever climb.

This place, it calls to me.

Conquering this mountain would truly seal my fate as the ultimate Champion of Kanto and Johto. I find myself smiling as I get closer to the top. I reach it, and see the exit, leading to more cold and hail.

"Of course." I smile, realizing this is the end of my journey. I exit the cave, and trudge my way forward through the snow and skin ripping cold. I'm almost there, I think as I crest a ridge.

But, then I stop.

There is someone else here. A figure dressed in white and red, staring out into the distance. Who was he?

The howling wind drowned out any noise he may have made, but I could feel the loud beating of my own heart. Someone else had beaten me here? Who was it that took my glory from me?

As I approach, I notice a few odd things. He seems oddly at ease in the ridiculously cold weather, his open jacket flapping wildly in the wind. He does not even seem to notice it, or me for that matter.

He is the one who carved that set of stairs, I realize with a start. Not only did he make it to the top. He literally carved his way here through the mountain itself.

What a man.

Perhaps… Maybe even a challenge.

my blood pumps with anticipation as I get closer, and closer to this figure.

He looks down for a moment, having heard my footsteps, and instantly turns as I approach.

I recognize him from the Hall of Fame. He is the one trainer I've been idolizing for the past few years, the one who'd taken on the true Team Rocket— not those pitiful remnants I ended cleaning up.

Without warning, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a Pokéball. I find myself grinning, unclasping mine from my belt, holding my first Pokéball aloft. I am truly unsure if I can win this one, but this is the fight I've been dreaming about since I first saw this trainer battle.

Champion Red smiles at me as he releases his first Pokémon. "…"

It's the most deafening silence I'll ever hear.


End file.
